mini-plot-bunnies: highlander, highlander / ncis:la
There are all sorts of benefits to being a highlander-type immortal, such as, you know, not dying, recovering from injuries, etc. There's a down-side too, of course, such as people trying to kill you. However, while one of the downsides is certainly having to hide your abilities, I don't think I've ever read a story that really focuses on that. The fact that you cannot allow yourself to be visibly injured. So, I had two mini-plot-bunnies for this, one is humorous, the other is angsty.
1. Richie Ryan is a good looking guy who's always up for adventure and fun and games and, hey, he's immortal. So he feels he should be experimenting a bit. Seeing what his options are. And it's not like he has to worry about STDs, right? So, there he is, in an S&M club... And then there's MacLeod coming to retrieve him. And explain to him, in a loud voice in the middle of the club, that no, he cannot allow himself to be spanked or whipped or anything like that because of his "medical condition." After all, his skin won't go red, marks won't stay, and, seriously, someone could go overboard and simply hurt him by accident without realizing it. Richie is hideously embarrassed (and frustrated), and MacLeod is surprisingly cool with it all: all the Doms are nodding along with his lecture to Richie about safety, while all of the Subs are practically fainting at his feet begging to be taken and thinking Richie is a lucky guy to have such a commanding Dom to care for him. It's possible Joe is having hysterics trying to figure out the best way to report this whole meeting and definitely deciding that it has to go into both chronicles, Richie's and MacLeods.
2. Dominic Vail is a new NCIS agent, who's woefully inexperienced but very bright and is being trained up by the entire LA team. And then he's kidnapped. He was definitely beaten, possibly shot, and has disappeared. No body has been recovered. That's canon. What if he's an immortal? He looks like he's in his early 20s. He's actually in his early 100s. He's had a few lives under his belt, he's an experienced person, but he's still young for an immortal. He joined NCIS for all the regular reasons, but additionally knew that as an immortal, it was important to know the state of the art in investigation skills. He joins NCIS, and his character is not a lie at all: he doesn't have the experience they're looking for, but he's going to learn it. And it is pretty embarrassing being constantly shown up by his coworkers. But he'll manage. At least he has dark skin: it lets him get away with the fact he doesn't bruise. Pity those poor pale-skinned immortals where a lack of bruises is really obvious. But then he's beaten and kidnapped and shot. His blood is left on a crime scene. And he works with a bunch of skilled investigators. He knows he cannot be rescued after that. He has to disappear. He has to abandon his friends and start a new life. And one day, maybe he'll run into them again and he'll be someone completely different. It's angsty.
1. Richie Ryan is a good looking guy who's always up for adventure and fun and games and, hey, he's immortal. So he feels he should be experimenting a bit. Seeing what his options are. And it's not like he has to worry about STDs, right? So, there he is, in an S&M club... And then there's MacLeod coming to retrieve him. And explain to him, in a loud voice in the middle of the club, that no, he cannot allow himself to be spanked or whipped or anything like that because of his "medical condition." After all, his skin won't go red, marks won't stay, and, seriously, someone could go overboard and simply hurt him by accident without realizing it. Richie is hideously embarrassed (and frustrated), and MacLeod is surprisingly cool with it all: all the Doms are nodding along with his lecture to Richie about safety, while all of the Subs are practically fainting at his feet begging to be taken and thinking Richie is a lucky guy to have such a commanding Dom to care for him. It's possible Joe is having hysterics trying to figure out the best way to report this whole meeting and definitely deciding that it has to go into both chronicles, Richie's and MacLeods.
2. Dominic Vail is a new NCIS agent, who's woefully inexperienced but very bright and is being trained up by the entire LA team. And then he's kidnapped. He was definitely beaten, possibly shot, and has disappeared. No body has been recovered. That's canon. What if he's an immortal? He looks like he's in his early 20s. He's actually in his early 100s. He's had a few lives under his belt, he's an experienced person, but he's still young for an immortal. He joined NCIS for all the regular reasons, but additionally knew that as an immortal, it was important to know the state of the art in investigation skills. He joins NCIS, and his character is not a lie at all: he doesn't have the experience they're looking for, but he's going to learn it. And it is pretty embarrassing being constantly shown up by his coworkers. But he'll manage. At least he has dark skin: it lets him get away with the fact he doesn't bruise. Pity those poor pale-skinned immortals where a lack of bruises is really obvious. But then he's beaten and kidnapped and shot. His blood is left on a crime scene. And he works with a bunch of skilled investigators. He knows he cannot be rescued after that. He has to disappear. He has to abandon his friends and start a new life. And one day, maybe he'll run into them again and he'll be someone completely different. It's angsty.